The American adoptees who fear deportation to a country they can't remember
1 hour ago Share Save George Wright Share Save
BBC Shirley Chung, right, and an adoptee from Iran who requested anonymity
Shirley Chung was just a year old when she was adopted by a US family in 1966. Born in South Korea, her birthfather was a member of the American military, who returned home soon after Shirley was born. Unable to cope, her birth mother placed her in an orphanage in the South Korean capital, Seoul. "He abandoned us, is the nicest way I can put it," says Shirley, now 61. After around a year, Shirley was adopted by a US couple, who took her back to Texas.
Shirley grew up living a life similar to that of many young Americans. She went to school, got her driving licence and worked as a bartender. "I moved and breathed and got in trouble like many teenage Americans of the 80s. I'm a child of the 80s," Shirley says. Shirley had children, got married and became a piano teacher. Life carried on for decades with no reason to doubt her American identity. But then in 2012, her world came crashing down.
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